This tiny bookshelf speaker was the latest in the long and illustrious line that started with the famous Cresta system in the mid-1960s. Using a new B160 polypropylene coned bass/midrange driver to reduce colouration, the system was designed for wall or shelf mounting. The result was a diminutive little box that sounded much larger and louder than it looked.

C20 (1985-88)

Larger than the C10, and therefore able to use a 200mm bass/midrange unit, the C20 showed many similarities to its smaller brother, but with the greater cabinet volume allowing increased bass capability and higher sensitivity. The C20 was the classic bookshelf speaker in size, performance and price, and showed just how good the performance can be from a modest economical system.

C30 (1985-88)

The immediate successor to the famous Coda III, probably the most successful loudspeaker of its generation, the C30 had a lot to live up to. The formula was similar but the package had been significantly refined. The ‘flat’ balance of the Coda was retained, so this ‘large bookshelf’ speaker was best suited to open stand mounting. However, the new polypropylene coned 200mm bass/midrange unit had greater midrange sensitivity and improved bass damping, so shelf mounting was still a perfectly feasible option. C30 was broadly similar in size to the new C60 and Reference Model 103.2, and provided much of the performance of these more expensive stablemates in a simpler package.

C40 (1985-88)

The C40 was generous in both volume and drive unit. Bass was plentiful and extended, and the design was balanced to operate clear of room boundaries on open stands. The two new 200mm bass/midrange units used polypropylene cones. Operating as a 2½-way system, the lower driver was used only at the lowest frequencies, augmenting and extending bass output, substantially improving power handling capacity, and assisting bass damping. The system would go exceedingly loud, would handle plenty of power, and, with a generous bass delivery, was particularly suited to the cost- conscious rock listener.

C40D (1987)

The C40D was a derivative of the C40 with one of the two active bass drivers replaced with a passive radiator, producing a design similar to the Cara(1986).

C42 (1989)

The C42 was a system developed from the C40D.

C60 (1985-88)

The C60’s direct line of descent was from the highly regarded Caprice II, which in turn had much in common with the Reference Series Model 103.2. Where the similarly sized C30 gave sound basic engineering with the emphasis on cost-effectiveness, C60, at a higher price, provided much of the extra subtlety and refinement of the Reference Series. Already an inherently sensitive design, the C60 was further improved by inclusion of KEF’s innovative ‘conjugate load’ network, which allowed much more of the available power of the amplifier to be utilised.

C80 (1985-88)

Substantially the largest C-Series model, the slim, elegant, floor standing C80 was very much the Reference Model 104/2 for the cost conscious audiophile. The famous B139 provided exceptional bass quality and extension for the cabinet size and the new polypropylene-coned B160 allowed high sensitivity and power handling along with low colouration through the mid-band. The C80 was the second C-Series model to benefit from KEF’s ‘conjugate load’ crossover network design, originally developed for Model 104/2. The net effect on your hi-fi system of replacing a conventional 8 ohm speaker with one which presents a 4 ohm constant resistance is that you can double the sound power output of your existing amplifier without any increase in distortion.